32

Vanessa walked inside the Mixture. She did not have any work at the studio but she stopped by to meet Ethan and Liza. He had informed her of Arthur and his little family’s arrival. She could not control her curiosity. She wanted to see the guy who had made Ethan fall in love with him. So, here she was first thing in the morning. She enters Ethan’s office.

There, she finds a little girl sitting on Ethan’s chair. She was writing something on a paper, leaning down onto the desk. When the office door opens, the little girl looks at Vanessa.

“Yes?”

Vanessa creased her brows and asked, “Who are you, little lady?”

The little girl frowned and threw the pen on the desk, “I am not a little lady!”

Vanessa chuckled, “Yeah, sure.”

“Excuse me,” said the little girl.

“What? Who are you?” Vanessa was almost losing her patience. She did not want to deal with this little brat right now.

“I am Amity, my papa’s princess,” the little girl said pushing her hair behind her shoulder.

Before Vanessa could reply to anything, the office door opened. Both the ladies turned towards the door. In came Ethan, Arthur, and Emily.

“Hey, when did you come,” Ethan greeted Vanessa. He came forward and gave her a hug. Arthur wondered if she was the one whom Ethan was talking about when he had visited him in his company.

“Just now,” Vanessa mumbled and Ethan looked at her smiling.

“Oh, by the way, this is Arthur, my best friend, and Emily, his wife,” Ethan introduced them. Finally, Vanessa got to know who was the man that had stolen Ethan’s heart.

They exchanged the greetings with a faint awkwardness. The air seemed a little tensed all of a sudden for no reason.

“Ethan,” Amity broke the silence.

“Yes, sweetheart, what is it?” Ethan asked walking towards his seat. Amity put up her hands to be picked. Ethan understood it immediately and picked her up. She clung to his neck and whispered something into his ear. Ethan chuckled lightly and looked at Vanessa. She raised her brows.

“Amity is asking me if you are my girlfriend,” Ethan said. Vanessa turned away without saying anything. Arthur looked at his daughter with astonishment because his little girl was knowing a lot of things that are not for her age. Emily was embarrassed for no reason.

“No, Vanessa is not my girlfriend. But she is a veryyyy close friend of mine,” Ethan replied to Amity’s question.

“Thank God. You are saved from a big headache, Ethan,” Amity’s words made everyone’s eyes widen. This little firecracker could burst at any time.

“Excuse me, he lost a gem. Not a headache,” Vanessa said folding her hands.

“I don’t think so,” Amity said with a lot of attitudes.

Ethan made a stop signal to Emily when she was about to her scold her daughter for behaving this way.

“Don't be so mean, sweetie. Vanessa is a nice girl,” Ethan tried to make peace between them.

“She was mean to me earlier before you came inside,” Amity accused.

“I was not mean to her, Ethan and she was mean to me and even now she is,” Vanessa said pouting. She could not believe her ears. This little girl was a gunshot.

“She called me a little lady, Ethan,” Amity said pouting brighter than Vanessa.

“That is a grave mistake, Vanessa. Amity is a big girl,” Ethan said to Vanessa who gave him an expression that translated to Don’t sprout nonsense.

Arthur chuckled quite loudly. Ethan’s words rang in his head. Amity was indeed like Vanessa. He could say Amity is the younger version of Vanessa.

Everyone stared at Arthur who was busy comparing the traits of his daughter and Vanessa, inside his head. He noticed their stares and cleared his throat, “Please join us Vanessa if you are free. We were just going out for lunch and a little sightseeing.”

Emily sighed from relief. Thanks to her husband for taking remedial measures to patch up for their daughter’s behaviour.

“Yes, Vanessa. It would be nice if you would join us,” Emily tried to persuade her.

“Yeah, okay,” Vanessa agreed flashing a small smile. Indeed Arthur had a nice character. Why would Ethan not love him? She thought.

Amity turned away from them. She clung to Ethan’s neck tighter and whispered, “I want ice-cream, Ethan. I am feeling down. My energy bar is nill.”

Ethan laughed lightly at her cuteness. He rubbed her hair and said, “Yes, baby. Anything for you.”

Arthur smiled at his daughter and Ethan. They shared a wonderful and warm bond and it swelled his heart with joy. He was smiling at them like an idiot.

Emily noticed the change in Arthur's mood and behaviour ever since they began packing for this vacation. He was especially excited about it. And she was happy about it. She concluded that maybe Ethan and Arthur had a fallout during their college days and now since they patched up, Arthur was feeling good again.

Vanessa who was knowing and witnessing everything and everyone felt happy for Ethan and Arthur. But on the other side, she felt extremely bad for Emily. She was aware of what kind of heartbreak Emily would experience when Arthur and Ethan’s secret relationship comes out. She could only wish for little damage to happen.